What creatures have we become? Clive Hamilton asks in this interview, contemplating how humanity has caused a rupture in the Earth system. We have triggered a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene.

The term Earth system is crucial to understanding what this means. At one level, this podcast is an oscillating sound wave. It's a simple physical phenomenon, but at another level, it's the words, ideas, and emotions of a conversation. These are things that can emerge from a system.

Clive Hamilton is the author of numerous books including Requiem for a Species and Earthmasters. In this interview we focus on his latest book, Defiant Earth: The Fate of Humans in the Anthropocene.